Just a few notes from my adventures as a writer and a children's librarian.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Nonfiction Monday -- Life in a coral reef

Life in a Coral Reef by Wendy Pfeffer. Illustrated by Steve Jenkins. Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2. New York: Collins (an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers), 2009 Available now.

Well, the paperback is available now on Amazon, but I see no record of a hardback edition, despite the fact that I'm holding a hardback in my hand. Hmmmmm. However, when I check the publisher's website, I find that a hardback IS available. (cross-checking with Amazon, using the hardback's ISBIN, does force a hardback to show, but it doesn't show when you do a title search. This is weird.

Ah hem. Enough with the Librarian-tech stuff. Back to the review.

DISCLAIMER -- I love, love, love the Let's-Read-and-Find out series! I have noticed in the past few years that some of the older editions were being re-issued with new illustrators. This isn't one of them; this is newly written by Wendy Pfeffer who has been writing books for this series ever since the 1990s.

And look at the illustrator! Award-winning Steve Jenkins! His amazing papercut illustrations use texture as well as shape to create very life-like pictures.

Since this is a level 2 science book, the sentences are longer and more complicated than the usual Let's-Read-and-Find-Out book. But you need that to describe the complicated interactions of life underwater. There are still only a few sentences per page.

Before you ask, "But did she include the current problems in the coral reefs?", let me show you the last two pages of the book -- Find Out More About Coral Reefs. Yes, she did. Plus various fun facts.

Other Nonfiction Monday posts are located here. Scroll down to see the whole list.-wendie old